Those who feel lucky have a chance to win Tuesday night to win the $ 865 million Mega Millions prize, the largest in the game in at least two years. The reward has reached these levels because there have been no winners since mid-September.
A $ 865 million payout would be the second largest of Mega Millions, behind a $ 1.54 million bonus earned in 2018.
Each Mega Millions ticket costs $ 2 and winners must match six numbers, including the Mega Ball, to take home the full sum.
The only cash option for Tuesday’s award was at least $ 638.8 million. Taking the cash value of the overall prize payment is an option that most winners favor. Otherwise, the prize will be distributed for 30 years.
If no one matches all the winning numbers on Tuesday night, the next Friday night draw will have an estimated prize pool of $ 970 million, according to Mega Millions.
Tuesday’s Mega Millions winning numbers
- 10, 19, 26, 28, 50
- Mega ball: 16
- Megapplicator: 2x
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 44 states, Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands.
Meanwhile, the Powerball lottery prize has risen to $ 730 million. The winning numbers will be drawn on Wednesday night.
Even with the two awards combined, they are still pale compared to the larger prize, a $ 1.588 million Powerball Award won by three players in 2016. The Mega Millions award was last won in Wisconsin on September 15, 2020, when a single winner got a $ 120 million ticket. The game was won five times last year, with a maximum prize of $ 414 million in June, according to officials.
The odds of winning a grand prize are low: 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Millions and 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball.
Below are the top 10 Mega Millions prizes in history, along with where the tickets were purchased:
- $ 1.54 billion: a winning ticket in South Carolina (October 2018)
- $ 656 million: three winning tickets to Illinois, Kansas and Maryland (March 2012)
- $ 648 million: two winning tickets to California and Georgia (December 2013)
- $ 615 million: It is unknown if there are winners (January 2021)
- $ 543 million: a winning ticket in California (July 2018)
- $ 536 million: a winning ticket in Indiana (July 2016)
- $ 533 million: a winning ticket in New Jersey (March 2018)
- $ 522 million: a winning ticket in California (June 2019)
- $ 451 million: a winning ticket in Florida (January 2018)
- $ 437 million: a winning ticket in New York (January 2019)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.